Unexpected Explosions
by Yugioh13
Summary: Kasumi is being forced to marry a man that she's never met because of her parents' obsession with being greedy and rich. But on the way to their destination, they are stuck at an Inn during a horrible rainstorm. As they wait for the storm to clear, Kasumi meets a handsome stranger who intrigues her. Could he be the key to her freedom? Or could his secret destroy their bond?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first Nauto story and I've always wanted to write one about my favorite Akatsuki member! Originally this was intended to be a oneshot, but as I started writing it, the story became longer and longer. So I decided to make it a short story. This story was inspired by The Winter Palace scene from the movie, 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, Benjamin (a man who grows younger as he gets older) meets a married woman in a hotel that he's staying in and they fall in love with each other as their friendship grows. It's a really sweet scene. **

**Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy this story. I tried really hard to get Deidara's personality right for this...I hope I did that. I apologize ahead of time if he seems a little OCC in the future. But I hope that you like it. Please review and message me! I want to know what you guys think! Thanks everyone! Enjoy!**

**Also I don't own Naruto, I only own Kasumi, Jirou, and her parents. **

* * *

"Stop messing with you hair, Kasumi." My mother scolded.

I stopped pulling on the clip that was holding my long dark hair back, painfully. "But it really hurts and I don't like my hair like this. Can't I have it down instead?"

She shook her head. "Of course not, you need to look beautiful for Yoshirou. The last thing I want is for my daughter to look like some street rat."

I looked over at my father who was sitting next to her in the cart. "Father."

He crossed his arms. "Listen to your mother, Kasumi. You need to impress this young man and you can't look like a tomboy for him."

Growling under my breath, I sank further in my seat and looked out the window of the moving cart.

"No slouching! Sit up!" My mother chided.

I groaned as I straightened back up and continued watching the trees pass by.

"Now Kasumi, you should be happy about this." My mother insisted.

I snorted. "About what? The fact that I'm giving up my freedom or the fact that you'll be happy that you'll be rich again when I'm suffering?"

Mother scoffed. "Kasumi, we're only doing what's best for you."

"Best for me?! Forcing me to marry someone that I don't even know is what's best for me? What's best for me is letting me make my own decisions and marrying someone I love."

She rolled her eyes. "People don't always marry for love, Kasumi. Look at me and your father, both of our parents arranged us to be married so we could inherit each other's riches."

My father sighed. "And nineteen years later, look at us now." He added sarcastically.

She glared at him. "Oh don't you start with me, it's all your fault that we're broke in the first place."

"Don't give me that, Nanako. You're one for talking."

I rolled my eyes at them before turning my attention back to the outside life, trying to drown them out.

This is what my life was like, being in the middle of their arguments and having my thoughts and dreams crushed by them. Yep, just a typical day in the life of Kasumi Miyahara.

I was born into one of the richest families in the village and everyone knew who we were. Many people envied me and wished for my life, but I'd have to say that I wish I were them instead. I was almost miserable in my house all the time. I was home schooled, I didn't have many friends, and no matter how much I begged them to become a shinobi they would always refuse. They couldn't bare to see their beautiful heir to put her life on the line in order to save others. If they lose me then they lose all the money they could earn when I marry in the future.

All they wanted to do was to be rich and famous.

Everyone would think that they had an endless supply of money, but in the last couple years my parents succumbed to their desires. My father was a bit of a gambler and unfortunately he lost a pretty good amount of it recently; we lost about half of our money. However, the losses didn't stop there; my mother loved to spend money almost as much as my father loved to gamble. She was always buying new stuff; new furniture, expensive clothes, and other relics that meant nothing to her. She just wanted to be able to say that she had everything.

Then there was me; I didn't really spend that much money on anything. The only things I ever bought were new clothes when I needed them and books from the local bookstore. I had over a thousand books and I had my own private library in my house; that's all I really needed.

Anyways, since we lost majority of our money, we were facing bankruptcy and getting evicted from our big house. I mean I was a little sad that we were losing our house and all, but I wasn't anywhere near as being upset as my parents were. They were panicking for days on end, whining and crying about losing everything that held their lives together.

Then one day, they came into my room and announced their 'big idea'. The Kusuhara family had a son that was around my age and that he was ready for marriage. So their bright idea was for me to marry Yoshirou, inherit his fortune, and give all of it to them.

So here we are now, traveling all the way to Kirigakure Village (aka. The Village of the Bloody Mist) in The Land of Water, so I can be forced to marry some guy that I don't even know, and to get my parents back into the rich social life.

Of course I tried the whole arguing, kicking, and screaming act for them, but they ended up dragging me the whole way there; not to mention that they primped and polished me to the core so I would make a great impression on Yoshirou. Honestly, I wouldn't have cared what I looked like; as much as I didn't want to marry Yoshirou I would have preferred to look like myself instead of someone else; but God forbid that I looked like myself, I might scare him away and my parents chances of rejoining their original lives.

Why can't I ever live my life the way I wanted?

Taking my gaze away from the scenery I looked at my parents, who were still arguing over who's fault it was to lose our money. "Can I walk along side the cart at least? My legs are getting really stiff."

They stared at me.

"Jirou is at least out there. I'm not gonna run away or anything like that."

My mother sighed. "I guess you can, but I don't want to see any mud on your clothes."

My father banged his fist on the roof, making the cart roll to a stop.

Slipping on my shoes, I stepped out of the enclosed space and out onto the dirt road.

"Be careful out there!" my mother shouted.

"I will." I told her. 'Like you really care.'

"Hey there Kas." A voice spoke in front of me.

I smiled as I turned my attention to the man who was standing near the front of the cart. "Hey Jirou. Do you mind if I walk with you?"

His grin widened. "Of course!"

When the cart started moving again, Jirou and I began following close behind.

"Are they fighting again?" Jirou asked.

I nodded. "What else do they do these days?"

He laughed as he shook his head. "Those two never change."

Jirou was our family bodyguard and has been serving us for many years. He was hired after my parents got married and he was there to protect me from the moment I was born. From that point on, he was my best friend.

He always treated me like I was his own daughter since he didn't really have any family. When I needed someone to talk to I would always go to him for advice. If Jirou wasn't there, I don't know what I would do.

When my parents announced my surprise marriage, Jirou was furious with them. For hours he tried to plead my case and convince them to wait until I was older. I was really touched that he cared that much about my well being like that. He was like the father that always said 'no dating until after you're married'; unfortunately, since my own father didn't really think that way, I was going to be married off no matter what the circumstance. My parents ended up threatening to fire Jirou if he tried to interfere with their plan and I don't think Jirou would have abandoned me like that.

Oh well, at least he tried. All I cared about was if Jiriou was going to remain as my bodyguard when I was married.

"So are you nervous?" he asked.

I sighed. "Of course I'm nervous, I'm about to meet a strange guy who's going to be my husband in a few days."

"You'll be fine, Kas. I'm sure he'll be the greatest guy you'll ever meet."

Well at least that's reassuring.

"And if he's a jerk then you can beat him up with those moves I taught you."

I smiled at him.

For the last couple years Jirou has been secretly teaching me some special ninja techniques to help defend myself in the future. Every now and then he would take me out into the woods to train and I'd have to say that I was pretty good at it. Of course my parents didn't know because if they did, they'd probably lock me away in my room and they would punish poor Jirou for helping me. Jirou and I were pretty discreet about it.

"Yeah, I'll just kick his butt if he does anything." I joked.

He laughed along with me. "Good to know."

When our laughter calmed down, I began kicking a random rock as we walked slowly, distancing ourselves from the cart a little bit. "Hey Jirou?"

"Yeah?"

"If you were my real father, would you ever put me through this?"

He stopped abruptly in his footsteps for a minute.

I stopped to see his reaction.

He looked stunned for a moment but managed to walk up to me. "I don't like it when you say things like that; he's your father no matter what."

I looked down at my shoes, ashamed of what I said.

Jirou sighed and hugged me around the shoulders. "But if you were my daughter, then I would never do this to you."

I smiled up at him and followed him back to the cart. 'Oh how I love Jirou."

* * *

After a couple hours went by the sky was starting to grow darker and then suddenly it started to rain. Luckily we came upon a hot springs and an inn before the rain started to get worse, so we decided to stay here for the night and then continue our journey to the Kirigakure village in the morning.

It was a cute little place and it was pretty tranquil there. My parents were a little worried about staying there because they were afraid of being attacked and having what's left of their fortune to be stolen. They were also worried about me too, but it wasn't for me; it was for the fact that I was their only hope for a better living. The lady running the front desk reassured them that they should be safe since there was only a couple people staying here. Thank goodness we had enough money for all of us to stay.

Rooming arrangements weren't bad one bit. I actually got a room to myself and it was an awesome place. I had a dresser for all of my clothes, a nice wooden desk in the corner, and a big plush bed in the center of the room. Also I had the greatest view of the forest from my room. I could see the river that traveled through the trees and I could see the sun setting behind them; it was gorgeous.

Jirou had a room right next door to me, so he could keep an eye on me and protect me still. My parents got a room clear at the end of the hall from me; that was the best part. At least they won't be able to control me in my room.

After we were all settled in, we all went downstairs to the dining room for dinner. Thankfully it was something edible; ramen. Usually when I ate at home with my family it was usually really weird stuff that looked disgusting; if I skipped dinner and went to bed, Jirou would be waiting outside my bedroom window with a bowl of ramen from the local ramen shop. At this moment my parents weren't impressed one bit with the bowl that was placed in front of them.

"What is this…this garbage?" my mother asked the startled servant.

"Um…well it's r-raman, Milady." She responded.

My mother's face twisted in disgust. "Don't you have anything…you know, more elegant?"

My father growled under his breath. "Don't complain Nanako, be glad we have anything at all." He said to her as he picked up his chopsticks and tried to eat his food without spitting it back out.

My mother huffed as she attempted to eat her ramen.

Jirou and I were practically slurping every noodle that entered our mouths; this was our kind of meal.

I could feel my mother's eyes on me. "Kasumi."

I looked over at her, noodles hanging over my lips. "Hmm?"

"Please have some manners and stop slurping; it's rather disgusting."

I slurped them up, trying to aggravate her.

"Kasumi."

"What? Can't I just enjoy my ramen in peace?"

"You need to stop playing with your food and eat your dinner like a lady, not like a child. You need to have proper manners. I don't think Yoshirou will like the way you eat."

"I don't care what Yoshirou thinks, this is the way I am and he's just gonna have to accept it." I rebutted as I went back to my meal.

"You know we raised a daughter, not a pig. So stop acting like an animal."

I stopped eating immediately and glared at her. "You know what, that's exactly what I feel like; a caged animal! I'm practically a pig being hauled off to the slaughter house!"

My mother tried to shush me. "Keep your voice down, Kasumi."

I stood up from my chair, slamming my hands down on the table. "No! I will not keep my voice down! I'm sick and tired of you treating me like your little puppet! This is my life and you can't control it! You don't care about my happiness! All you guys care about is you and your money!"

"Kasumi!" my mother yelled.

"I don't want to marry some stranger just for his money; I could care less if he was rich or not. Heck, he could be a criminal for all I care."

Ha! The look on their faces was priceless.

"All I want to do is marry someone who I want to be with. Why can't you guys see that I don't want to do this?"

My father shook his head. "This is ridiculous Kasumi; we're only doing-"

"Don't you give me that! You're not doing what's best for me, you're only doing what's best for you! If you acted like 'real' parents, you'd let me do whatever I wanted!"

That comment left them in silence for awhile.

Jirou stared at me in surprise.

That's right; I said if they were my 'real' parents, I'm not afraid to state the truth.

My father took a breath. "That's quite enough, young lady. There will be no more of your childish behavior. Tomorrow, we are going to the Kirigakure village and you will be married to Yoshirou. No and's, if's or but's."

I took one look at him and then stormed out of the room; I couldn't even look at them anymore.

As I ran up the stairs to my room I could feel my eyes beginning to water. By the time I was inside my room and slammed the door shut I let the tears flow freely down my cheeks; practically screaming in frustration.

I lay against the door and slid down to my feet, holding myself as I sobbed. 'How could they do this to me? I'm their daughter; I shouldn't be treated like this.'

At this moment, I just wanted to escape from them and never look back; but knowing them, they would find a way to keep me locked away.

A soft knock at the door alerted me.

"Go away!" I yelled at whoever was at the door; the last thing I wanted was to see my parents right now.

"It's me." Jirou's soft voice spoke through the door.

I stood to my feet, wiping my eyes. "Come in."

He opened the door slightly. "It's just me, your parents are still downstairs."

I walked over to my bed and sat down. "Good."

Shutting the door behind him, he walked over to the bed and sat beside me. "Are you okay?"

I snorted. "What do you think?"

He put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I turned my head into his chest and began to cry again. At least I had a shoulder to cry on.

He stroked my hair. "It's going to be okay, Kas."

I sniffled. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better."

He chuckled. "I could, but then I wouldn't be a good person to you. I want you to be okay. Besides, I'm kind of glad you finally said something to them; I mean the look on his face was priceless when you said thing about being 'real' parents."

I lightly laughed as I looked up at him, tears continuing to slide down my face. "I thought you didn't like me talking about my parents like that."

"Well I don't, but for now I'll let that one slide." Then he sighed. "I'm really sorry about all of this, I wish I could do something…but…"

"No, it's okay, I know you want to try and help…I just-" I choked before I started crying again.

Jirou held me close, rubbing my back as he tried to comfort me. "Shh...I'm here for you Kas. I'm always here for you."

I was relieved that I had someone who supported me.

Why did my life have to be like this? All I wanted was to be able to make my own life decisions. I wanted my parents to not be so greedy and selfish. I wanted to go off into the world and meet someone that I could fall in love with. And most importantly, I wanted to be free.

'Well...I guess you can't have everything in life.' I told myself as I continued to cry into Jirou's shoulder.

* * *

**Well that's what I have so far. Don't worry, our favorite blonde headed bomber will make his appearance soon. I hope that you enjoyed my first chapter! The next chapter should be out soon! Please send a review or a message! I always respond to your reviews! Thanks everyone! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait! I had a lot of editing to do with this chapter. I hoped that you enjoyed the first chapter! Now we finally get to see everyone's favorite blonde bomber! Yay! I really hope that you enjoy this chapter! I apologize ahead of time if Deidara seems a little OCC, I tried my best. **

**Also thank you to all of you who favorited and followed this story! Please let me know what you guys think of this! I want to know what you guys think! Enjoy!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I only own Kasumi, Jirou, and her parents.**

* * *

It took me awhile to calm down; an hour actually. Jirou stayed by my side the whole time and continued to try and make me feel better. I'm glad that I've got a friend like him.

When I finally stopped crying, I dismissed Jirou to his room so I could go to bed. Sadly, that wasn't really happening for me.

All of those negative thoughts buzzing around my head, the temperature in the room was driving me insane, the loud rain outside was keeping me alert, and my body was sooooo restless. I can't take it!

Fed up with the position on my stomach, I rolled onto my back and pushed my blankets down to my feet since the room was too hot at the moment. "Ugh! Why can't I just go to sleep?!" I groaned.

This was so stupid; all I wanted to do, was get some sleep. But all I can think about was marching off to my fate tomorrow…while my parents watch. Why can't they just understand anything I say? Every time I try to explain something my way, they always ignore it and say that _**I'm **_wrong. I hate being ignored!

And what makes it worse is that…

**_GROWL_**

Oh this is just perfect! Now my stomach is growling! I guess I shouldn't have skipped dinner like that, but I couldn't stand to even be in the same room with them.

'Hmm…I wonder if they have any leftovers in the kitchen.'

Glancing over at the clock next to my bed, I could see it was almost midnight. I highly doubt anyone's going to be up at this time of night; especially my parents.

I slid out of bed, put on my sandals, and walked over the the door. Then I cautiously opened the door and peeked out to see that the hallways were lightly dimmed and completely empty. 'So far, so good.'

Carefully, I slipped out the door, shutting it quietly behind me, then tip-toed down the stairs. I began looking around the dark lobby of the inn to see if anyone was awake. 'Guess everyone's gone to bed for the night. I hope they don't mind if I raid the fridge; after all my parents are paying.' I thought as I searched around the room for the kitchen. 'I won't take too much, all I need is a quick snack to put my stupid stomach to sleep and then for me to do the same. Hopefully.'

I ended up finding the dining room, which reminded me of my little blowout that happened earlier. I shook my head as I walked away from the room. 'Don't think about it, you're just gonna upset yourself again. Focus on finding the kitchen!'

Then I stopped in my tracks.

"Now where the heck is it?" I asked myself out loud.

As soon as those words left my mouth, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an arrow pointing to my right with the word 'Kitchen' written under it. I smacked my forehead. "Of course, it had to be right next to me."

I ended up following the arrows until I came to a door that read kitchen. 'Hope there's something good in there.' I thought as I opened the door, to the surprisingly lit room.

"Whoa!" someone shouted.

I felt my heart jump as I stared at the person sitting at a table with ramen hanging out of his mouth.

He quickly slurped the noodles up before he tried to catch his breath. "Geez, are you trying to kill me?!"

"No! Of course not! I-I didn't know someone was in here!" I responded loudly.

"Shhhhh!" he shushed me. "Keep it down!"

My eyebrows rose up, noticing his loud tone. "You're telling me to keep it down?"

He shushed me again. "Do you work here?" he asked in a quieter voice.

"What?" I hissed quietly.

"Do you work here at the inn?"

"No! Of course not! I'm just a visitor!" I said loudly.

He glared at me. "Well since you're a visitor, I suggest that you shut up before someone hears you and comes downstairs."

I quickly shut my mouth. I guess he's right; the last thing I need is for the staff to find me down here. Or even worse, my parents.

He relaxed in his chair. "Thank you."

I rubbed the back of my neck unconsciously as I looked around the room. "So um…I'm assuming that you're not part of the staff either, right?"

He stuffed another bunch of noodles into his mouth. "Does it look like I work here?"

I scanned over his outfit which consisted a mesh sleeveless shirt and black pants. Not really the type of clothing that someone work at an inn would typically wear. More like the types of clothing that Jirou would wear since he's a shinobi.

"No."

"No, of course not." Then he laughed. "You wouldn't catch me ever working in a place like this. There are two things that I don't like about this kind of job; work and people."

I chuckled. "Yeah, it's not my sort of dream job either." Then I glanced over at the fridge. "So um…is there anything left in there?"

He shrugged his shoulders a little as he took a bite of his ramen. "Eh, there's stuff in there but most of it is just ingredients for later on. The only thing they had in there was extra ramen from tonight" Looking over his shoulder, he hesitated as he stared at the stove. "But…I kind of took the last of it."

"Oh." I responded sadly.

Naturally, my day just had to get worse. My food is gone and it was taken by some rude jerk.

Then he looked back at me. "There's still some left in there if you want some."

I glanced over at the pot and then back at him confusingly. "Really?"

He raised a brow. "Does it look like I'm being serious?"

"Well it's kind of hard to say when you keep acting like a jerk towards me."

His face almost twisted into a glare but suddenly changed his expression. "Oh." He said as he looked down at his bowl. "I'm sorry. But like I said, you can go ahead and have some, I don't think anyone else is gonna eat it."

I still remained in my spot. "It's okay, I'm not that hungry."

As soon as that lie left my mouth, my stomach let out a loud growl. 'Stupid stomach.'

He laughed as he looked up at me. "Sounds like your stomach isn't lying to me. I mean it, go ahead and have some."

Hesitantly, I moved over to the stove. "Um…thank you." I managed to find a bowl in the cupboard and filled it up to the top with ramen. After it was filled, I slowly made my way over to the table. I didn't really want to go back to my room, but at the same time I didn't want to bother this guy by sitting by him. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who wanted to talk to anyone, especially me.

He seemed to noticed me just standing awkwardly there as he lifted his head. "You can sit here if you want to." Then he smirked. "I don't bite."

Even though I didn't want to, my feet moved automatically and pulled out the chair across from him. "Thanks." I murmured as I sank down into it and began to eat.

We both were pretty quiet for a a few minutes. The only sound that could be heard was the clinking of our chopsticks hitting the bowl.

"So…what's your excuse?"

I met his eye that wasn't shielded by his blonde bangs. "Hmm?"

"Your excuse for being here in the kitchen."

"Oh, I couldn't sleep."

He nodded slowly. "Any particular reason why?"

I raised a brow. "Why do you want to know?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I'm trying to make small talk. I hate hearing nothing but the sound of my own breathing."

I looked down at my bowl, stirring the noodles around in a circle. "I guess I had a lot on my mind."

'More than usual.'

"So what's your excuse?" I asked him.

He signed. "Couldn't sleep either. Had a very long day dealing with stupid people and I haven't eaten all day, hn."

"Sheesh that sucks. How are you still functioning?"

"Eh, I've gone a lot longer without something to eat. I'm used to it."

"I wish I could have your resistance; I'm always hungry. I can only go for about three hours without eating something." I responded.

"Ha! You wouldn't last a day in my shoes." He laughed as he took a bite of his ramen. "So if you don't mind me asking, what's on your mind? I mean what's so stressful that's keeping you up all night?"

I don't want to have to dump all of my problems on him; for Pete's sake I don't even know who this guy is.

Quickly, I avoided eye contact and immediately looked down at my ramen. "Just…stuff…people. Very…very stupid people."

"Ah, I know exactly what you mean. I can't stand my…uh…mission partner. He's always trying to pick a fight with me and we can't stand each other…yet I get stuck with him on every mission that we go on."

I smiled softly as I ate my ramen. "So you're stuck with him whether you want to or not."

He nodded. "Every day."

I lifted my head up. "So you're a ninja?"

He hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"What village?"

He looked down at his bowl. "Uh…"

"Oh…was that a bad question?"

He met my worried gaze. "No, it wasn't bad…I'm more of a…traveling ninja. I-I do missions for an…organization."

"Wow, that sounds really cool. So this must be some sort of 'secret' organization, right?"

He hesitated again. "Eh…do you mind if we change the subject?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject. I'm not trying to snoop around in your private business."

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. I just don't really like discussing my 'job' with strangers…no offense."

"None taken."

Then it grew silent for awhile as we both ate our ramen. During that silence, I took the time to observe and examine my strange eating companion.

He had a lanky build, but he had a nice muscle tone. Also he had long blonde hair that ran past his shoulders and he had some of it pulled back into a very high ponytail. His icy blue eyes stood out, however, one of them was hidden behind his bangs that were pulled off to the left side of the face.

At first I thought he looked like a girl when I walked in the room, but the lack of breasts and a feminine voice ruled that notion out. Even if he sort of resembled a girl, he still looked pretty handsome.

He met my staring gaze as he slurped up his noodles. "What?"

I quickly looked back down at my bowl, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. "N-nothing."

He didn't say anything more about it.

About a minute later he finally spoke up. "So, where are you on your way to?"

I started stirring my ramen around the bowl, absentmindedly. "Well…my family and I are traveling to Kirigakure, the Village of the Bloody Mist."

"Family too, huh? That's a pretty big village to live in. Are you returning or visiting?"

My breath stopped for a second before I rolled my shoulders to relive the tension. "Moving actually."

"You don't sound too happy about it."

I sighed heavily. "I'm not."

At this point I didn't care if I shared a few minor details to this guy. I mean, it's not like I'm going to see him again; we're leaving in the morning and he's probably got missions to run. I guess I could vent to him for a little bit.

"You see…my family became broke recently and it's taken a huge toll on us. So my parents' solution is for us to move to Kirigakure to hopefully start over and to gain our money back."

He took another bite of ramen. "And I'm guessing you're not thrilled about it, right?" he said with a mouthful of noodles.

I giggled at his face. "No, I don't want to move. I really liked the village that I used to live in and I didn't want to move."

"Didn't you try to tell your parents?"

I laughed dryly as I dragged my hands down my face. "I've told them over a hundred times, probably a thousand. And every single time I say something I get shot down. It's like I'm invisible to them." Then my voice got quieter. "My opinion never matters."

He slurped up the remaining noodles. "Oh…I'm sorry to hear…about that."

I looked down at my bowl again. "Thanks."

"So why Kirigakure? Is there a specific reason why they picked that place to live?"

I hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a way to cover up the 'arranged marriage' bit.

I shrugged my shoulders as I met his gaze. "Eh, they just think it has great potential to getting money in. Something about better paying jobs and opportunities to gain money in." I lied.

Ha! Just hearing myself makes me laugh; my parents wouldn't work a day in their life if they had to. Thus, this is why I'm being forced to marry instead of them getting jobs.

He stared at me with a raised eyebrow; probably not buying it. "Oh."

We sat there quietly for a little bit before he spoke up again. "So I'm assuming that you're leaving in the morning then?"

I nodded as I shoved another bite of noodles in my mouth.

"Hmmm…I guess maybe that's why you can't sleep. You keep thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow and it's keeping you alert and awake."

"Yup." I stated, popping the 'p' on the end.

He looked down at his bowl. "Well, I guess as long as you're here right now, why don't we talk about something that's not depressing for awhile. We've got all night to talk if you're not tired."

I cocked an eyebrow at him with a smirk. "But I thought you didn't like talking and people."

He shrugged. "Well, what do you think we've been doing for the past ten to fifteen minutes? Besides, it looks like you need a little cheering up right now."

"But I don't wanna keep you up all night. I mean, what about your mission?"

"Eh, it's fine. My partner could go alone for all I care; he can do it by himself if he had to choice to. He doesn't like me going anyways; I'm just a distraction to him, hm." He rested his elbows on the table and perched his chin on his wrist. "This seems a little more important right now. What do you say?"

I hesitated for a few moments, trying to contemplate if I should just sit here and talk to this complete stranger. I mean he could be a murderer or some kind of pervert who preys on young women. Then again…he doesn't look too dangerous. This guy's probably harmless. He's willing to talk to me and help me get over all of this crazy stress going on in my head. I mean I don't know many people who would be willing to do that, except for Jirou.

Eh, what the heck.

I weakly smiled at him. "Alright; where do you wanna start first?"

* * *

For the next few hours we just talked about random stuff. We talked about our favorite kinds of food, favorite color, and other basic stuff like that. After we got that out of the way, I started telling him funny stories about the crazy shenanigans that Jirou and I did. Of course I told him that Jirou was a family member who was like my best friend.

Then he told me about all of his fellow shinobi teammates and their crazy habits. From the way that he talked, he didn't seem to like any of them very much, especially Sasori, Itatchi, and Tobi.

But he did laugh when he explained how he got revenge on them, most of the time it was Tobi. Tobi sounded like a hilarious but extremely annoying person to be around. I would have actually liked to meet him one day; doubt it would happen, but hey, I can dream.

This whole night was strange, but I actually felt comfortable with this guy. This stranger was nice and he was really funny. Even though he was a jerk when I first met him, it was like he made a complete turn around. Well whatever it was, I liked this change.

"So wait, you literally chased him for five miles?" I giggled.

He laughed as he took a drink of water. "Mm…yeah. You should have seen Tobi running. Man, as soon as he saw me glaring at him for what he did, he was instantly gone. That idiot can run faster than anyone I know, but he wasn't fast enough that day when I caught him."

"How did you manage to catch him? I mean you did say that he was faster than anyone you knew."

He smirked. "I have my ways."

"I'll take your word for it." I said as I took another bite of ramen, which was becoming colder and colder the longer we talked. I would have liked to know how he did it, but I think it was better to be left unsaid; makes things more interesting.

The stranger popped his chin on the back of his wrist. "So tell me, what do you do in spare time?"

I smiled softly. "I love to read. Whenever I had some time to kill or I needed a little relaxation for myself, I'd just sit in our little library, grab a book and read."

"How many books would you say that you have in that library of yours?"

"Hundreds, thousands probably." Then my expression turned sad. "It's a shame I only got to bring a few of my favorites with us. We didn't have enough room to bring all of them to Kirigakure."

Mainly because they sold most of my books to get money.

"That's too bad. Maybe you'll get some more books to add to your collection when you settle in with your family."

I gave him a fake smile. "Yeah, that's true."

I highly doubt my parents will let me or even my new husband would approve of it. But I don't want to think about it or get this guy involved.

Quickly, before I could frown at the thought, I tried to change the subject. "So what do you do in your free time?"

He smiled as he looked down at his hands. "Well…I…uh…give me a second." He said as he unzipped a small pouch that he had strapped to his belt. He reached inside and pulled something out. "Okay, what do you see in my hand?"

I leaned over the table to see a lump of gray clay, at least I hoped it was, in his outstretched hand. "Uh…it's clay, right?"

"Yep, now just give me a second."

"But you just had a second. Now you want another one?" I joked.

He smirked at me. "Maybe." He told her as he pulled his hand back and began to squeeze the clay. He turned slightly around in his chair so I couldn't see what he was doing. "No peeking."

I sat back down in my chair with a huff. "Fine, I'm not looking."

After about a couple minutes went by, the stranger turned back around and held out his now clenched fist. He slowly opened his hand to reveal a small clay bird. It was perfectly sculpted with feathered wings, a tail, and a beak with two eyes right above it.

"Wow, that's amazing." I awed.

He gave me a genuine smile. "Thanks, this was a pretty easy one for me. You should see some of my other work, it's much better and some of them are really big."

I smiled at the tiny bird. "It's really cute."

He held the bird out to me. "Here, take it."

I took the smooth bird in my hand and traced my fingers through the creases of the wings. "You're a really great sculptor."

"Thanks. It's been my hobby for a really long time and I love doing it."

"Looks like it." I said, turning the bird around in my hands.

"You can keep it you know; the bird."

I looked up at him. "What? Oh no, I-I can't."

"No seriously, I've made hundreds of those birds. I'm not gonna miss just one."

I stared at him, not sure if I should really keep it.

"I mean it, go ahead. It's yours."

I smiled softly at him. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I thought you could have something to cheer you up, you know before you have to leave."

My heart dropped. 'Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that.'

I looked back down at the bird. "I guess that we've been talking for so long I actually forgot about tomorrow."

"Then that's good; I'm helping you not think about it. My tactics have been helping."

I met his eyes again, a smile on my face. "Yeah that's true. So um…to change the subject, is art a really important thing for you?"

He adjusted in his seat. "It's more than just a big thing for me; it's my life. Every thing I make is art and it's this huge passion that's been in my blood for…well pretty much my whole life. I don't know what I'd be without it."

"It sounds like you're really passionate about it."

"You think? I mean just look at that tiny bird. Do you think that it was easy to make that? It took me years to perfect that and I'm always working on it to make it even better. Do you think it wasn't my passion if I was able to create that so easily?"

I looked down at the bird and then back at him. "Well if it wasn't, then I'd be shocked."

He smiled at me as he leaned on his arm that was perched on the table. "I've gotta ask you an art related question."

"Okay, shoot."

"What's your view on art? I mean what do you truly think art is?"

I raised my brow. "Never been asked a question like that before." I cleared my throat before answering. "Well I think there are several different aspects to it. There is that aspect where people can create things like paintings, sculptures, and music. They can express themselves through creating things and they can either admire it themselves or they can share it with the world. They can put their creations in galleries or they can show off their creativity at festivals or performances. Their art will remain that way forever."

He stared at me with a serious look, as if he wanted me to say more.

"Then…there is that special kind of art. The kind that can't be recreated after being seen. It happens within a moment or two and then it just…goes away. Like a blast of lightning striking the ground or like an explosion."

His eyebrows seemed to perk up at that.

"Some people can view that just for a second before it disappears. It's beautiful and sad since it could never be recreated again." I said sadly as I looked at the bird again.

"So which one do you prefer?" he asked.

"I guess…the gallery art is nice to look at, but I want the art to make me feel. I want to end up with tears in my eyes and my skin to be covered in goosebumps when I see it. I love that feeling that I get when I would watch the fireworks from my house." My voice got quieter. "Probably the only special thing in my life."

I lifted my head to meet his smiling expression. "So is that your favorite then?"

I smiled softly. "Yeah, it is."

His smile widened at my response.

But before he could say anything, the chiming of the clock in the background silenced him.

It rang five times; 5:00.

Realization hit me. "Oh no!" I said quickly as I stood up from the table.

The stranger's eyes widened in surprise. "What? What's wrong?"

"I…I forgot that we're leaving around seven for Kirikugake. My parents are going to be waking me up around six."

"So? You've still got less than an hour to get back to your room."

I didn't want to have to tell him about the reason why my parents would wake me up early; to primp and prep me before we leave to go meet the Kusuhara family tomorrow.

"My parents will be awake before me. They could come down here to get something to eat or they'll be checking out. They want to get on the road immediately so we can get to Kirikugake by this afternoon. Also I want to try to get at least one hour of sleep before we leave."

He sank back into his seat. "Oh, yeah that's right."

He actually looked pretty upset when he realized that I had to leave; it was as if he didn't want me to go.

In my opinion, I didn't really want to leave either. I was just starting to get to know him and I really wanted to learn more about who this stranger was.

"I'm really sorry I have to go." I apologized.

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault that you have to. Put the blame on your parents." He joked.

I laughed softly. "Yeah, that's true." Then I looked down at my feet, feeling slightly nervous about saying goodbye to the stranger. "Um…thanks for um…you know…talking to me."

"Oh, no problem. I just hope that um…everything goes okay for you tomorrow."

"Thanks." I responded, smiling sadly. "Oh and um…thanks for the bird. It's really cute." Then I met his eyes. "You're very talented."

He smiled back. "Thanks."

We stared at each other silently.

"Well I uh…" I hesitated as I began walking backwards towards the door. "I should get going."

"Yeah, you should." He said as he looked down at his bowl.

I guess he didn't want to look at me.

I turned around, trying not to look at him anymore. "Bye."

"See ya."

With a deep breath, I walked out of the kitchen and into the lobby where I began climbing the stairs.

"Wait!" the stranger shouted.

I stopped and turned around to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs, breathing heavily.

"Shh! Do you wanna wake up the whole inn?" I whispered harshly.

Crossing his arms across his chest, he raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So now you're telling me to shut up?" he responded, still not lowering his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, so what? Would you please stop talking so loud? I can't let anyone know I'm out here."

"Fine." He said quietly. "I just wanted to know what's your name."

My eyes widened slightly. 'Wow, he actually wants to know my name.'

"Kasumi."

"Kasumi, hm? Nice name." He responded with a smile.

"Thanks. Sometimes I go by Kas too."

"They both sound pretty good."

"What about your name? Since you wanted to know my name, I think it'd be fair if you told me yours."

He smirked. "That desperate, huh?"

I matched his smirk. "Hey, I wasn't the one who chased someone down just to learn their name."

"Touche."

I stood there waiting for an answer. "Well?"

"Deidara, my name's Deidara."

"Deidara." I tested. "I like it."

He smiled. "Thanks."

As we stood there smiling at each other, my fingers unconsciously felt along the creases of the tiny clay bird. "Well…I guess I'd better get going then. It was nice meeting you, Deidara."

"Same to you too, Kasumi."

I gave him one last smile before I continued up the stairs. When I made it back to my room, I quietly tiptoed inside, shutting the door softly behind me.

Sighing heavily, I collapsed on my bed.

Well at least tonight wasn't a complete loss. I got to have a very long conversation with someone that I felt very comfortable talking to. Probably one of the best conversations I've had in a long time. Also I still couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to him. It felt like we'd been friends for years and he really cared about me.

My thoughts drifted back to that conversation that we had about art. He stared at him like he was so impressed for what I had to say about my view on art. Like a deep admiration for me. I wonder if that was his view on art too?

Then I sighed. "I guess I'll never know. I doubt I'll ever see him again." I whispered. "Deidara…"

Slowly I felt myself drift off to sleep. 'Oh well, I might as well try and get at least a little bit of sleep…even if it's only for an hour. My sleep deprivation was well worth it. A nice and long conversation with a ninja that I had a lot in common with…and sadly I'll most likely never see him again. Deidara.

* * *

**Well what did you guys think? Poor Kasumi won't see him anymore...or will she? I hope that you guys enjoyed this! I really liked writing this scene between the two of them. I'm currently writing the next chapter and I hope to have it done soon! Please review or send me a message. I really like to hear what you guys think about it! Also if you want to see some of my other work, I have two Harvest Moon stories and one Full Metal Alchemist oneshot too. Oh and I have an Ouran High School Host Club oneshot on the way.**

**Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this! I'll have chapter three done soon! Thanks you guys! **


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